New findings spotlight governance gaps disrupting cloud modernization
Pathlock’s 2025 Digital Transformation and Access Risk Report uncovers a troubling trend: governance failures are delaying cloud migration for nearly 40% of organizations. The study reflects a widening gap between ambitious digital modernization goals and the practical, often manual, governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) processes that support them. As enterprises race to modernize, fragmented access governance and opaque control practices become the bottlenecks delaying critical cloud initiatives.
What’s delaying cloud migration?
The report pinpoints several persistent friction points. First, governance, risk, and compliance planning often trails behind technology roadmaps. Instead of being integrated into the early stages of cloud strategy, GRC activities are frequently treated as afterthoughts, leading to misaligned controls and late-stage remediation work. This misalignment increases project risk and elevates the chance of non-compliance during migration.
Second, many organizations rely on manual access governance processes. Manual reviews, approvals, and entitlement attestation are time-consuming and error-prone, creating delays as teams juggle competing priorities. The resulting lag not only slows migration timelines but also raises security risk, as stale or inappropriate permissions can linger undetected during critical deployment phases.
Third, the report highlights ongoing compliance violations uncovered during modernization efforts. Even with ambitious digital transformation programs, firms frequently encounter unaddressed policy gaps, inconsistent access controls, and insufficient evidence of compliance. In a landscape where regulatory demands are intensifying, these violations compound project risk and erode stakeholder confidence.
Why governance matters in cloud modernization
Cloud migration isn’t just a technical shift; it represents a change in how access is granted, audited, and governed across hybrid environments. Effective GRC practices ensure that identities, roles, and permissions align with business needs and security requirements. When governance is embedded in the cloud strategy from day one, organizations can:
- Achieve faster, more reliable migration with clearly defined access controls
- Reduce the risk of privilege abuse and data exposure during migration
- Maintain ongoing compliance with evolving regulations
- Demonstrate auditable controls that satisfy stakeholders and regulators
Pathlock’s findings suggest that organizations adopting automated, policy-driven access governance are better positioned to navigate the complexity of cloud transformations. Automation helps scale control enforcement, accelerate attestations, and provide continuous visibility into who has access to what across multi-cloud and on-prem environments.
What enterprises can do now to accelerate modernization
To close the governance gap, companies should consider the following actions. First, integrate GRC planning into the earliest stages of digital transformation. Governance objectives should be treated as core project requirements, not afterthoughts when budgets and timelines already feel fixed. Second, replace manual access review processes with automated attestation and continuous monitoring. This shift reduces cycle times, improves accuracy, and strengthens security. Third, embed policy-based controls that adapt to changing environments, such as new cloud services and evolving regulatory expectations. Finally, adopt a unified platform for identity, access, and risk governance to provide a single source of truth across disparate systems.
Implications for security leaders and boardrooms
For CISOs, CIOs, and risk leaders, the Pathlock report is a clear signal that governance readiness is as critical as technical readiness in cloud journeys. Stakeholders must champion a culture of proactive governance, invest in automation, and demand evidence of continuous compliance. Those who act now will be better equipped to accelerate cloud modernization while mitigating risk and avoiding costly delays or penalties.
Conclusion
As organizations press forward with digital transformation, the cost of governance gaps grows. The Pathlock 2025 Digital Transformation and Access Risk Report underscores a simple truth: robust, automated, and embedded GRC practices are not optional extras—they are foundational to successful cloud migration and sustained compliance.
